Development of a tablet excipient from bagasse.

This paper describes our attempts to prepare a direct compression excipient from bagasse (DICEB) and its properties, particularly as they pertain to tablet making.After a process somewhat similar to the manufacture of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), a white powder was obtained which was used in compression studies.Variation of the compression pressure, particle size distribution and moisture content did not yield caffeine-containing DICEB tablets which would be of the same satisfactory quality in terms of mechanical stability and disintegration time as those prepared from commercial MCC.These findings were interpreted to be the result of poor water uptake by DICEB.Removal of residual wax from bagasse yielded a powder with promising properties as an excipient for direct compression of tablets.